alpha un# weekly roundup

This week, crypto markets witnessed significant institutional movements in the digital asset ecosystem.

Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX has made a landmark $2 billion investment in Binance, marking the exchange’s first institutional backing. Meanwhile, the Bank of Russia has proposed a tightly controlled, three-year experimental legal regime for cryptocurrency trading. Under this framework, only qualified investors—those with at least 100 million rubles ($1.14 million) in investments or an annual income of 50 million rubles ($570,000)—will be permitted to participate.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on several proposed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to XRP, Solana (SOL), Litecoin (LTC), and Dogecoin (DOGE), extending regulatory uncertainty around alternative crypto ETFs.

On March 7, Binance introduced its "Vote to List" and "Vote to Delist" mechanisms, allowing the community to influence token listings, a move aimed at increasing transparency and user engagement.

Crypto asset manager Bitwise has launched an ETF providing investors exposure to companies with significant Bitcoin reserves, further bridging traditional finance with digital assets.

And on the un# podcast, Sri Misra and Simon Dingle dig deep into the world of stablecoins.

DeFi highlights:

As of March 18, 2025, total DeFi market capitalization stands at $84 billion, reflecting a 1.2% decline from the previous week. Despite the downturn, blue-chip protocols such as Aave and MakerDAO continue to attract capital inflows, signaling sustained institutional interest in decentralized finance.

On-chain data reveals a notable increase in whale accumulation of Maker (MKR) and Synthetix (SNX), with holdings rising 15–20% over the past week.

A recent Coinbase & EY-Parthenon report indicates that 83% of institutional investors plan to increase their crypto exposure in 2025, with many expanding beyond Bitcoin and Ethereum into DeFi and alternative Layer-1 ecosystems.

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